Robyn at MSG

 The Honey Tour

 

The Swedish songstress released her latest album, Honey, at the end of 2018 after a lengthy hiatus from music scene, with the exception of a string of collaborations with other artists.  2010’s project, Body Talk, was a pop masterpiece and made me fall in love with her as an artist and a performer.  Shortly after Body Talk, I saw Robyn live twice and her performance was electrifying on both occasions.  So I had high expectations for Honey as well as her show at Madison Square Garden.

The critically acclaimed album, with the exception of the first single, Missing U, is a slight departure from the dancey tunes of the Body Talk albums with its moodier and at times more melancholic songs of heartbreak and loneliness.  The album retains a synth pop undertone in addition to its abundance of disco motifs and 90s beats.  Spin magazine describes the album accurately as “sparkling yet subtly realized and constantly in motion” which follows Robyn “from the precipice of heartbreak into the club and onto the beach, and eventually toward something resembling redemption”. I was interested to see how the album would translate to a live performance and Robyn did not disappoint.


When she walked onto the stage, framed by billowing white sheer curtains and looking like a Scandinavian disco goddess in a pair of silver knee-high boots, the roar of the crowd was deafening.  They were on their feet from the first note of the opening track, Send to Robyn Immediately.  After a crowd favourite, Be Mine, there was a brief interlude which featured a sculpted dancer in blue, before Robyn reemerged on stage in a fiery red ensemble, her hair pulled back into a ponytail wrapped with a long black ribbon. 

She really turned up the heat in the second part of the show, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she danced and moved around the stage like a firecracker.  One of the highlights was undoubtedly Dancing On My Own, when the music stopped and she let the audience belt out the chorus.  You could see the pure joy on her face as the love from the crowd washed over her.  She concluded the show with a double encore and left her adoring fans on an incredible high – as evidenced by the impromptu dance party that happened on the subway platform at Penn Station, with a huge group of concertgoers singing and dancing to Dancing On My Own while they waited for their train.
The complete setlist was as follows:

Send to Robyn Immediately
Honey
Indestructible
Hang With Me
Beach2k20
Ever Again
Be Mine!
Because It’s in the Music
Between the Lines
Love Is Free
Don't Fucking Tell Me What to Do
Dancing on My Own
Missing U
Call Your Girlfriend
Encore:
Trust Me
Stars 4-Ever
With Every Heartbeat
Human Being
Who Do You Love?

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